ATLANTA: DAY 4 -- BOXING

ATLANTA: DAY 4 -- BOXING;Two More Americans Advance With Ease

By MIKE WISE

Published: July 23, 1996

ATLANTA, July 22—
Coach Al Mitchell compares it to a train slowly building steam. His United States boxers, thought to be more decent than dangerous before the Olympic Games, are 6-0. It is not a cheap 6-0, either.

On a night when the world's most dominating amateur, Cuba's 165-pounder, Ariel Hernandez, won a lackadaisical first-round bout against Salim Kbary of Egypt, the American duo of Roshii Wells and Floyd Mayweather ignited a sold-out gathering at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Mayweather warmed up the building by stopping Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakstan 57 seconds into the second round at 125 pounds, and Wells, from the nearby suburb of Riverdale, Ga., brought the crowd to its feet, peppering Sefid Dashti Mollal of Iran for three rounds at 165 pounds while keeping the American team undefeated after three days of competition.

Eric Morel of the United States meets the Cuban Maikro Romero in a flyweight bout at 1:30 P.M. Tuesday in the first head-to-head battle between the amateur boxing powers. David Reid fights the South Korean Wan-Kyun Lee in a light-middleweight bout.

"I told a lot of people, we're going to surprise a lot of doubters," Mitchell said, explaining his team's fast start. "The most important thing, the kids are listening to us. And when you're 6-0, who can complain?"

Wells dazzled the crowd, using straight flurries and blistering combinations to post the highest score of any boxer through more than 90 bouts. He won by 24-7, which meant that at least three of the five judges credited him with landing an average of eight scoring blows per round.

But his main obstacle is the greatest one in the tournament: Hernandez.

"Most definitely," he said when asked if he could beat the Cuban, who won his bout by a score of 9-2 amid hoots and jeers for more action. "He's a great boxer, but he doesn't know me. He might underestimate me. He probably wants to lose once in a while, anyway."

United States coaches say Wells, who is sponsored partially by the former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, has improved more than any other boxer since the team began training camp in Augusta a few weeks ago.

Both Mayweather and Wells had family members looking on, a fact they said contributed to their performance along with the loud gathering in the building.

"You know, a brother can't lose when his mom's in the stands," Wells said, seeming to stretch a grin across the Georgia Tech campus.

Mayweather stopped Tileganov after the Kazakstanian twice had to see the ringside doctor for a bloody nose. By then, Mayweather had built a 10-1 lead and kept the pressure on with powerful right crosses.

The Cuban featherweight Lorenzo Aragon, Mayweather's potential quarterfinal opponent, outpointed Noureddine Madjhound of Algeria, 9-6, in a close bout that saw Aragon go to the canvas twice. "I think Floyd will walk through him," the United States assistant coach Jesse Ravelo said. "He may stop the Cuban. I heard this morning he was having a lot of trouble making weight."

It seems unlikely Aragon that would have trouble with his weight -- nearly all of the Cuban fighters are so tall and lean that spandex clothing would sag on them.

"People still do not understand this is amateur boxing and it is not about knocking anybody out," the Cuban assistant coach Julian Cedeno said.

PUNCH LINES

EVANDER HOLYFIELD, who spoke at an impromptu news conference at the boxing venue Monday, talked about how impatient he was leading up to the opening ceremony and how Olympic officials kept a secret. "My children finally said, 'We thought you were carrying the torch, Daddy,' " Holyfield said. "I said, 'Well, kids, I did too. But don't worry about it. We'll enjoy the Olympics anyway.' " The call finally came the day before. "About 10 minutes before I carried it into the stadium, they said Ali was lighting it," Holyfield said, referring to the Olympic flame. "All of a sudden, I felt real good, full of joy. I can't tell you how uplifting that was.". . . . The best fight of Monday's afternoon session was a three-round war between the Canadian RANDALL THOMPSON and BRIAN MAGEE of Ireland. Magee won on points, 13-5, but not before Thompson had floored him seconds into the first round and the two had traded bombs for nine minutes.